Mistaken ICBM Parts Shipment Under Scrutiny:

Defense and Air Force officials just last week learned of the shipment in fall 2006 of four nonnuclear, but classified, ICBM nose cone fuse assemblies by the Defense Logistics Agency from Hill AFB, Utah, to Taiwan instead of the helicopter...

Were They Similar in Size?:

When asked at the Tuesday Pentagon press briefing (see above) if the boxed Minuteman ICBM nose cones and helicopter batteries were “similar in physical appearance,” Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne replied, “Once you set them side by side, no.” The...

Lying in Wait:

Some Boeing supporters on Capitol Hill are exploring legislative action to stymie the Air Force’s KC-X tanker award to Northrop Grumman/EADS in the event that Boeing’s legal appeal with the Government Accountability Office fails. Rep. Jay Inslee, (D-Wash.), in whose...

AFRICOM Shift:

The Air Force is considering personnel shifts within Europe to support the fledgling US Africa Command. Potential moves include rerouting AFRICOM air traffic out of its current hub at Ramstein AB, Germany, through Naval Station Rota and Morón AB, Spain,...

Insatiable Appetite for Full-Motion Video:

The Pentagon’s acquisition community faces a 300 percent annual increase in the requests for overhead full-motion video to support ground operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, USA Today reported March 25. Currently the demand for FMV, which is provided by platforms...

Critical Hub for Wounded:

The Air Force’s 435th Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility at Ramstein AB, Germany, has handled nearly 51,000 patients since the war in Iraq began five years ago. Stars and Stripes reported March 25 that the facility is nearing the count of...

Biggest Priority for Naval Aviation:

It’s dealing with a projected shortfall of fighter aircraft around 2016, Adm. Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations, said March 25. “We predict right now that we will bottom at about a 69-aircraft shortfall,” the admiral told defense reporters yesterday...

Sticking to the Plan:

The Navy’s plans haven’t changed when it comes to the future airborne electronic attack architecture, the sea service top uniformed officer said March 25. Indeed, the sea service still eyes EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft only to support carrier air...

It’s About Time:

The Air National Guard has launched its first new recruiting advertising campaign in 10 years, producing new ads that feature Air Guardsmen and destined for theaters, radio, TV, magazines, and newspapers. Lt. Col. Randy Johnson, chief of ANG recruiting and...

Paying Back for Fire Damage:

The Air Force has settled all but 142 of the 3,092 compensatory claims that it has received to date since a flare from an Air National Guard F-16 fighter caused a wildfire in May 2007 in southern New Jersey, where...

Missing World War II Airman Identified:

The Department of Defense has identified the remains of US Army Air Forces pilot 2nd Lt. Arthur F. Eastman, of East Orange, N.J., whose aircraft went missing during a training flight in August 1944 in New Guinea, according to a...

Made Up His Mind:

The Missouri Air National Guard pilot who narrowly escaped as his F-15C fighter broke apart in midair last fall has filed a lawsuit, according to various news reports, against Boeing, which absorbed McDonnell Douglas, the original maker of the F-15....

ANG Pilots Booted over Anthrax Get Another Day:

US District Court Judged James Robertson has ruled that the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records failed to accurately portray the result of the case called Doe v. Rumsfeld brought by six anonymous defense personnel over the Pentagon’s...

Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest Asia

March 23, 2008 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 24 8 32 2,247 CAS/Armed Recon 59 40 99 6,832 Airlift 144 144 10,222 Air refueling 45 45 3,171 Total 320 22,472 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance...